How Painting Distracts Me From My Problems
Life can feel like a storm sometimes, messy, overwhelming, and dark. Now don’t get me wrong, I truly believe life is beautiful and worth living. But some days are just harder than others.There are days when the weight of everything I’m carrying feels too heavy to even name. And on those days, I pick up a brush, not to fix anything, but simply to distract myself. Because somehow, painting helps me pause the ache, even if just for a little while. It may not be the solution, but it’s a soft distraction. In this particular post I want to share how painting distracts me from my problems.
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How Painting Distracts Me From My Problems
1. Painting Gives Me Something Else to Focus On
When I’m anxious or hurting, my mind runs in circles.
But the moment I begin mixing colors, drawing, and painting, my thoughts slow down. I’m no longer spiraling. I’m simply present. Focused on the way the paint moves, the texture of the brush, the colors I am using/mixing, and the piece I am creating. And in those moments, even if just for a while, my problems step back.
My focus is no longer on my problems.
It’s now on my art.
And that is very therapeutic.
2. It Welcomes My Emotions Without Judgment
Sometimes I don’t want to talk to others about what’s wrong. Sometimes I don’t even know how to express to others what’s wrong. And sometimes, I don’t even know what’s wrong. But art doesn’t ask for explanations.
It just welcomes me entirely.
With all my silence, all my questions, all my emotions, and all my chaos. Every part of me feels welcomed.
It’s almost as if I have a safe space to feel whatever I need to feel, without giving any explanation whatsoever. Painting gives my heart something gentle to do while it unravels what it’s feeling.
3. It Becomes A Softer Kind Of Escape
I used to feel guilty for wanting to “distract” myself. But now I see that some distractions are healing.
Unlike other distractions, painting doesn’t numb me.
It simply grounds me, in a soft and creative manner.
It doesn’t ignore what hurts, it just gives me space to breathe around it. And sometimes, breathing is all I need.
4. The Canvas Doesn’t Demand a Solution
When I paint, there’s no pressure to fix anything.
No deadlines. No right or wrong. No limit.
Just me, my brush ready to be used, colors I choose without thinking, and a surface ready to hold whatever spills out. And in that freedom, beautiful things emerge.
Paintings that are not necessarily perfect are born. Paintings that express deep emotions are born.
And paintings that connect with others are born.
Not as a solution to my problems, but as a testimony that pain can be also used as a fuel.
Final Thoughts
Painting doesn’t erase my problems.
However, it gives me a moment of stillness inside them. A pocket of beauty in the mess.
And on the days when I feel like everything is too much, painting reminds me that it’s okay to feel deeply. And it’s also okay to distract myself, if that means that I will keep going. I hope you found this post on “How painting distracts me from my problems” helpful.
With love and paint-stained hands,
Gabby Abigail
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